Palace confident authorities will uphold rights of ‘red-tagged’ Dr. Naty Castro
RED TAGGED Dr. Ma. Natividad Marian “Naty” Castro, who graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines Manila-Philippine General Hospital in 1995, was accused of kidnapping and serious illegal detention and identified as a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines-Central Committee.
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang expressed confidence on Tuesday that authorities will uphold the constitutional rights of Dr. Natividad “Naty” Castro, who was red-tagged and arrested by police.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles noted the assurances earlier made by authorities that Castro’s rights will be protected.
“Ang sinabi po ng (The) Department of Health (DOH) [said], and I quote is that ‘all our citizens, healthcare workers included, enjoy the constitutional guarantees of due process and presumption of innocence until proven guilty. We trust our authorities to uphold these rights’,” Nograles said during the Palace press briefing.
“Ang ating mga (Our) authorities — our legal authorities, the [Department of the Interior and Local Government], the law enforcement authorities and all legal authorities — maintain that lahat ng (all) constitutional rights of the accused will be protected and all legal protocols and procedures were followed,” the acting presidential spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire was likewise questioned on her reaction to National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict spokesperson Lorraine Badoy’s criticism that the DOH is allegedly defending the central committee of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, after the health agency recognized Castro’s efforts.
READ: Uphold Doc Naty’s right to due process, DOH tells PNP
“We agree with CabSec Nograles. Ayun naman po ang naipalabas natin. Binigyan din lang po natin ng (That is what we issued. We just gave) recognition ito pong ating mga doktor (to these doctors) who are serving among the marginalized individuals or families in the country,” Vergeire said in the same briefing.
“Katulad po ng sabi ni CabSec, kung ano po ‘yung proseso, diyan naman po tayo at tayo po ay naniniwala (Like what CabSec said, whatever the process is, we believe) that the processes and the rights of the individual will be preserved and respected,” she added.
Nograles stressed that Castro’s arrest is not because of red-tagging but by virtue of an arrest warrant for alleged kidnapping and serious illegal detention.
According to rights group Karapatan, Castro is a health worker who helped in establishing community centers and programs.
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